The Jin dynasty or the Jin
EmpireEmpire (/dʒɪn/;[2] Chinese: 晉朝;
pinyin: Jìn Cháo, sometimes distinguished as the Sima Jin or Liang
Jin) was a Chinese dynasty traditionally dated from AD 265 to
420. It was founded by Sima Yan, son of
Sima Zhao who was made Prince
of Jin and posthumously declared the founder of the dynasty. It
followed the
Three KingdomsThree Kingdoms period (220-280 AD), which ended with the
conquest of
Eastern WuEastern Wu by the Jin.
There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty. The
Western Jin (265–316) was established as a successor state to Cao
Wei after Sima Yan usurped the throne, and had its capital at Luoyang
or
Chang'anChang'an (modern Xi'an); Western Jin reunited
ChinaChina in 280, but
fairly shortly thereafter fell into a succession crisis, civil war,
and invasion by the "Five Barbarians." The rebels and invaders began
to establish new self-proclaimed states in the Yellow River valley in
304, inaugurating the "Sixteen Kingdoms" era. These states immediately
began fighting each other and the Jin Empire, leading to the second
division of the dynasty, the Eastern Jin (317–420) when Sima Rui
moved the capital to
JiankangJiankang (modern Nanjing). The Eastern Jin
dynasty was eventually overthrown by the Liu Song.

Molded-brick mural, identified as the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove
and Rong Qiqi", one of two walls apart of the coffin found in a tomb
of the capital region of the
Southern dynastiesSouthern dynasties (5th-6th. c.), second
half of the fifth century, at Xishanqiao, near Nanjing. 88 x 240 cm.
NanjingNanjing Museum. This part of the murals may reflect a composition of
the famous Lu Tanwei, considered as the single greatest painter of all
times by the Chinese critic Xi He (act. 500-536) : ref. from
China : Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD, The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Yale University Press 2004. We can recognize Ji Kang
(223-262), on the left, under a gingko tree.

Under the Wei, who dominated China's
Three KingdomsThree Kingdoms period, the Sima
clan rose to prominence, particularly after the 249 coup d'état at
the Gaoping Tombs.
Sima Zhao assisted the throne in suppressing other
rebellions, recovering Shu and capturing Liu Shan in 263 and opposing
Zhong Hui's rebellion the next year. His ambitions for the throne
remain proverbial in Chinese but he died before he could rise higher
than prince of Jin, a title named for the Zhou-era marchland and duchy
around Shaanxi's Jin River. (He was granted the title as his ancestral
home was located in Wen County within Jin's former lands.)
The Jin dynasty was founded in AD 265 by Sima Yan, posthumously
known as Emperor Wu (the "Martial Emperor of Jin"). He forced Cao
Huan's abdication but permitted him to live in honor as the Prince of
Chenliu and buried him with imperial ceremony. The Jin dynasty
conquered the
Eastern WuEastern Wu in 280, and united the country. The period of
unity was short-lived as the state was soon weakened by corruption,
political turmoil, and internal conflicts. Sima Yan's son Zhong,
posthumously known as Emperor Hui (the "Benevolent Emperor of Jin"),
was developmentally disabled. Conflict over his succession in 290
expanded into the devastating War of the Eight Princes. The weakened
dynasty was then engulfed by the Uprising of the
Five BarbariansFive Barbarians and
lost control of northern China. Large numbers of Chinese fled south
from the Central Plains; among other effects, these refugees and
colonizers gave Quanzhou's Jin River its name as they settled its
valley in Fujian. The Jin capital
LuoyangLuoyang was captured by Liu Cong in
311. Sima Chi, posthumously known as Emperor Huai (the "Missing
Emperor of Jin"), was captured and later executed. His successor Sima
Ye, posthumously known as Emperor Min (the "Suffering Emperor of
Jin"), was captured at
Chang'anChang'an (present-day Xi'an) in 316 and also
later executed.[3]
The remnants of the Jin court fled to the east, reestablishing their
government at
JiankangJiankang within present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu. Sima Rui,
the prince of Langya (琅琊), was enthroned in 318, posthumously
becoming known as Emperor Yuan (the "First Emperor of the Eastern
Jin").[3] The rival northern states, who denied the legitimacy of his
succession, sometimes referred to his state as "Langya".
At first, the southerners were resistant to the new ruler from the
north. The circumstances obliged the Emperors of Eastern Jin to
dependent on both local and refugee gentry clans, the latter convinced
the former of the emperor enjoying high prestige by showing
superficial respect to Rui, which was also the pinnacle of menfa
politics (門閥政治), Several immigrated gentry clans were very
active and they grasped the national affairs: Wang (王) clans from
Langya and Taiyuan, Xie (謝) clan from
Chenliu (陳留), Huan (桓)
clan from Qiao Commandery (譙郡) and Yu (庾) clan from Yingchuan
(潁川). The Emperors of Eastern Jin had limited power. There was a
prevalent remark that "王與（司）馬，共天下 (
Wang Dao and
the emperor Sima Rui, they dominate the nation together)" among the
people.[4] It is said that when Emperor Yuan was holding court, he
even invited Dao to sit by himself accepting jointly the
congratulations from ministers, but Dao declined it.[5]
The local gentry clans were at odds with the immigrated. As such
tensions increased, they loomed larger in Jin's domestic politics. Two
biggest ones of local clans: Zhou (周) clan from
YixingYixing (義興) and
Shen (沈) clan from Wuxing (吳興)'s ruin was a bitter blow from
which they never quite recovered. Moreover, there was a conflict among
the immigrated clans' interests, it was a faction led to a virtual
balance somewhat benefited the emperor's ruling.
Although there was a stated goal of recovering the "lost northern
lands", paranoia within the royal family and a constant string of
disruptions to the throne caused the loss of support among many
officials. Military crises—including the rebellions of the generals
Wang Dun and
Su Jun but also lesser fangzhen (方鎮, "military
county") revolts—plagued the Eastern Jin throughout its 104 years of
existence.
SpecialSpecial "commanderies of immigrants" and "white registers" were
created for the massive amount of northern origin Han Chinese who
moved south during the Eastern Jin dynasty.[6] The southern Chinese
aristocracy was formed from the offspring these migrants.[7] Celestial
Masters and the nobility of northern
ChinaChina subdued the nobility of
southern
ChinaChina during the Eastern Jin and Western Jin in Jiangnan in
particular.[8] The most populous region of
ChinaChina was southern China
after the depopulation of the north and the migration of northern
Chinese to southern China.[9][10] Different waves of migration of
aristocratic Chinese from northern
ChinaChina to the south at different
times resulted in distinct groups of lineages, with some lineages
arriving in the 300s-400s and others in the 800s-900s.[11]
The Eastern Jin recovered its unity in the face of the 383 invasion by
the Former Qin. The short-lived coöperation among
Huan Chong (brother
of General Huan Wen) and Prime Minister
Xie AnXie An helped provide a major
victory at the Fei River. A large amount of
Former QinFormer Qin territory was
then taken or retaken. Later, Huan Xuan, Huan Wen's son, usurped the
throne and changed the dynasty's name to Chu. He, in turn, was toppled
by Liu Yu, who reinstated Sima Dezong, posthumously known as Emperor
An (the "Peaceful Emperor of Jin"). Meanwhile, as civilian
administration suffered, there were further revolts led by Sun En and
Lu Xun;
Western Shu became an independent kingdom under Qiao Zong. Liu
Yu had Sima Dezong strangled and replaced by his brother Sima Dewen,
posthumously known as Emperor Gong (the "Respectful Emperor of Jin"),
in 419. Sima Dewen abdicated in 420 in favor of Liu Yu, who declared
himself the ruler of the Song; he was asphyxiated with a blanket the
following year. In the north, Northern Liang, the last of the Sixteen
Kingdoms, was conquered by the
Northern WeiNorthern Wei in 439, ushering in the
Northern dynastiesNorthern dynasties period.
The
XianbeiXianbeiNorthern WeiNorthern Wei accepted the Jin refugees Sima Fei
(司馬朏) and Sima Chuzhi (司馬楚之). They both married Xianbei
princesses. Sima Fei's wife was named Huayang (華陽公主), who was
the daughter of Emperor Xiaowen; Sima Chuzhi's son was Sima Jinlong
(司馬金龍), who married a
Northern LiangNorthern Liang princess who was a
daughter of
XiongnuXiongnu King Juqu Mujian.[12] Much later, Sima Guang
(1019–1086), who served as prime minister to the Song, claimed
descent from the Jin dynasty.
Government and demography[edit]
Menfa politics[edit]

Administrative divisions of Eastern Jin dynasty, as of 382 AD

Qiaoren and baiji[edit]
The uprising of the five barbarians led to one northerner in eight
immigrated to the south. These immigrants were called "qiaoren
(僑人, literally the lodged people)" accounting for one sixth the
then people lived in the south. Considering most property of these
refugees had been lost or exhausted as they arrived, they were
privileged to be free from diao (調), a special poll tax was paid via
the silken or cotton cloth etc. in the ancient China, and service.
Their registers which bound in white papers were called baiji (白籍)
in Chinese. The ordinary ones which bound in yellow papers were called
huangji (黃籍) in comparison.
Since situation settled down, the preferential treatment not only was
the heavy burden for the nation, but also aroused dissatisfaction from
the natives. Hence, tu duan was an increasingly important issue for
the Eastern Jin.
Lodged administrative divisions in Jin dynasty[edit]
The Eastern Jin court established the lodged administrative divisions
in where were strongholds of qiaoren. More effective in administration
for them was a realistic starting point for that. Consisting of three
levels: qiaozhou (僑州, the lodged province), qiaojun (僑郡, the
lodged commandery) and qiaoxian (僑縣, the lodged county), these
lodged administrative divisions were merely nominal without possessing
actual domain, or rather, they were local government in exile, what
could scarcely be denied was their significance of Jin's legitimacy
for the north territory as somewhat an announcement. Furthermore, it
was also an action to appease refugees' homesickness or home town
complex, evoking their desire to resume the lost.
During the Emperor Yuan, Emperor Ming and Emperor Cheng period, the
lodged administrative divisions were concentrated in the area south of
the
Huai RiverHuai River and the Lower Yangtze Plain. At first there was the
lodged Langya Commandery within lodged Fei County in Jiankang, but
when it began was not exact. Then the lodged Huaide County was also
established in Jiankang, around 320. According to the Book of Song:

晉永嘉大亂，幽、冀、青、並、兗州及徐州之淮北流民，相率過淮，亦有過江在晉陵郡界者……又徙流民之在淮南者于晉陵諸縣，其徙過江南及留在江北者，並立僑郡縣以司牧之。徐、兗二州或治江北，江北又僑立幽、冀、青、並四州……(After
Disaster of Yongjia, the refugees from You, Ji, Qing, Bing, Yan and Xu
provinces came across the Huai River, some even came across the
Yangtze River and stayed in Jinling Commandery... The lodged
administrative divisions were established to govern them. The seats of
Xu and Yan provinces perhaps were moved to the area north of the
Yangtze River, where the lodged You, Ji, Qing, Bing provinces were
established.)[13]

The lodged Pei, Qinghe, Xiapi, Dongguang, Pingchang, Jiyin, Puyang,
Guangping, Taishan, Jiyang, Lu commanderies were stablished when
Emperor Ming ruled. The rebellions and invasions occurred in Jianghuai
area led to more refugees switched to settle in the south of the
Yangtze River, where the lodged Huainan Commandery was established
afterwards.
However, carrying out was more complex than the policy was formulated.
Several actual counties were under the jurisdiction of the lodged
commanderies.
A few lodged administrative divisions are still retained in China
nowadays. For instance,
Dangtu CountyDangtu County was originally located in the
area of Bengbu, however the lodged
Dangtu CountyDangtu County was established in
where it is now, and the latter replaced the former, inheriting its
place name.
Tu duan policy in Jin dynasty[edit]
The tu duan (土斷) is the abbreviation for yi tu duan (以土斷,
means classifying people according to their present habitation to
register). It was a policy to ensure the ancient hukou system working
since the Western Jin. These terms were firstly recorded in the
biographies of Wei Guan and Li Chong included in the Book of Jin:

The Jin dynasty is well known for the quality of its greenish celadon
porcelain wares, which immediately followed the development of
proto-celadon. Jar designs often incorporated animal, as well as
Buddhist, figures.[16]
Examples of
Yue wareYue ware are also known from the Jin dynasty.[17]

Religion[edit]
Taoism was polarized in the Jin dynasty. The Jin emperors repressed
Taoists harshly, but also tried to exploit it, given the way it had
been used near the end of the Han era in the poor peasants' revolts.
Amidst the political turmoil of the era, many successful merchants,
small landowners, and other moderately comfortable persons found great
solace in Taoist teachings and a number of major clans and military
officers also took up the faith.
Ge Hong emphasized loyalty to the
emperor as a Taoist virtue; he even taught that rebels could never be
Taoist immortals,[18] which made Taoism more palatable to the imperial
hierarchy. As a result, popular Taoist religions were considered
heterodoxy while the official schools of the court were supported, but
the popular schools like Tianshi Taoism were still secretly held dear
and promulgated amongst ordinary people.
Disunity, disintegration, and chaos also made
BuddhismBuddhism more popular,
in part due to the focus on addressing suffering. The Jin dynasty
marked a critical era for Mahayana in China. Dharmarakṣa’s
translation of the Saddharmapundarika Sūtra was the most important
sutra before Kumārajīva’s Lotus Sutra. It was said that there were
1,768
BuddhistBuddhist temples in the Eastern Jin.[19]
Furthermore, Taoism advanced chemistry and medicine in China, whereas
the contribution of Mahayana was concentrated in the philosophy and
literature.
List of emperors[edit]
See also: Emperor's family tree and Family tree of Sima Yi

Posthumous names
Family name and given names
Durations of reigns
Era names and their according range of years

War of the Eight Princes
Uprising of the Five Barbarians
Disaster of Yongjia
Huan Wen's expeditions
Battle of Fei River
Liu Yu's expeditions

See also

Emperors' family tree
Sima clan family trees
Sixteen Kingdoms
Migration of the eight clans
Eighteen History Books of Jin
Book of Jin
In Search of the Supernatural
Jiankang

v
t
e

Sixteen Kingdoms

History

Uprising of the Five Barbarians
Disaster of Yongjia
Shi Le's unification of North China
Wei–Jie war
Wei-
XianbeiXianbei war
Fu Jian's unification of North China
Huan Wen's expeditions
Battle of Fei River
Liu Yu's expeditions

The 16 Kingdoms

Cheng Han
Former Zhao
Later Zhao
Former Liang
Later Liang
Western Liang
Northern Liang
Southern Liang
Former Qin
Later Qin
Western Qin
Former Yan
Later Yan
Northern Yan
Southern Yan
Xia